under-the-counter

under-the-counter

The village shop seemed to be a bastion of respectability but those in the know could obtain some very questionable under-the-counter material.

Related terms

under the counter

Adverb

(comparative more under the counter, superlative most under the counter)

Illicitly, against regulations, of goods kept under the serving counter in a shop to be unobtrusively passed to a customer who knows they are available for surreptitious sale (e.g. pornographic magazines in a newsagent).

Adjective

(comparative more under the counter, superlative most under the counter)

2003 - This morning he said he could not remember exactly where or how the invoice was written. It was used to cover up an under the counter payment from the sale of his land in Lucan. (RTE News, 19 Sept 2003)